KAZAN, Tatarstan -- People in the Russian republic of Tatarstan are divided on the issue of removing Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin's monument from the center of Kazan on the 85th anniversary of his death.
RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service polled several listeners on January 21 and many respondents said that they believe that the communist era was part of Russian history and therefore the monument should remain in the central square.
But many of those polled have become more critical of the communist past and said they want Lenin's monument removed. One respondent said the Lenin statue can help remind people that "such cruel times" existed.
A recent poll showed that 66 percent of Russians support removing Lenin's mummified body from Moscow's Red Square and burying him in a cemetery.
RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service polled several listeners on January 21 and many respondents said that they believe that the communist era was part of Russian history and therefore the monument should remain in the central square.
But many of those polled have become more critical of the communist past and said they want Lenin's monument removed. One respondent said the Lenin statue can help remind people that "such cruel times" existed.
A recent poll showed that 66 percent of Russians support removing Lenin's mummified body from Moscow's Red Square and burying him in a cemetery.
